Little Shop of Horrors!
by pinkpinkblink
Summary: The casts of Yu-Gi-Oh!, Yu Yu Hakusho, and Inu-Yasha put on the musical Little Shop of Horrors! With Kurama as Seymour, Marik as Orin, and Mai as Audrey, everything is possible! CH2: The Day Before Opening Night and Licorice!
1. Auditions and Meeting The Cast

Little Shop of Horrors!   
  
Ch. 1: The Auditions  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own LSOH, or any of the anime involved. (pulls out machete) So stay away.  
  
Jager: I know, I've got a million other things to finish, but I've got horrible writers block, and am in a Little Shop sorta mood. Deal.  
  
YamiRiku: Grumpy much, Hikari?  
  
Jager: -.- Go away. I'm having a not-so-good day.  
  
YamiRiku: Yay!  
  
Jager: (stalks off to a dark, dank, and cobwebbed corner of the room) No bug me.   
  
YamiRiku: (rolls eyes) Whatever.  
  
Jager: This story is a mass crossover. YYH, YGO, IY. So, without further ado, on with the show!  
  
It was a dark and stormy night.  
  
No, not really. In fact, it was a beautiful morning. The sky was a light blue, the sun was shining, and there was a cool breeze coming in from the west. Which made Hiei Jaganshi even more pissed than he already was. The fire demon tugged darkly at his sleeve, which was being held onto by Shuichi Minamino, aka Kurama, Hiei's best friend. But at this current moment, Hiei would have liked nothing better than to kick Kurama in the back of the knee and take off. But Hiei knew better. He tugged at his sleeve again, this time growling slightly. Kurama glanced down at the youkai.   
  
"Hiei, we're already here. Can't you calm down at least a little bit?"  
  
"No. Why do I have to come to this stupid thing again?"  
  
Kurama sighed. "Because, Hiei, it's a chance to broaden our horizens."  
  
Hiei made a face. "I like my horizen the way it is, fox. Now let me go!"  
  
Kurama let go alright, but pushed Hiei into the foyer of the Performing Arts Center, located in sunny Domino, Japan. Hiei made an attempt for the door, but instead ran straight into it as Kurama pushed it closed. Growling again, the Jaganshi rubbed his head and glared upward. "I hate you."  
  
Kurama put his hands over his heart in mock sorrow. "I'm crushed. Now come on. Yusuke said he would meet us in the auditorium." The youko strode off to the door leading into the PAC (Performing Arts Center), leaving Hiei to fight to happy little bubbles that were floating around his head. But eventually, the youkai found his way into PAC, and was promptly picked up in a huge bear hug. "I loooooove you!" Hiei pushed his way out of the hug and stared, wide-eyed, at the blonde-haired boy, who suspiciously was wearing a belly shirt. Behind him, a pale white-haired boy and another blonde, this time with extremely spiky hair, were rolling around on the floor in laughter. The first guy smirked and turned to face the other two.   
  
"Okay, pay up, Bakura."   
  
Laughing, the white haired boy, presumably Bakura, stood up, pulled some yen out of his pocket, and handed it to the first guy.   
  
"There, Malik. My turn!"   
  
Hiei gulped and headed down to the front of the middle row, were he could see Kurama chatting with a white-haired person with little dog ears resting on his head. Plopping down in the seat next the the youko, Hiei looked around the room. There were more people than he expected to be auditioning. Most of them looked as nervous as Hiei felt inside. In the back of the row, he could hear someone singing as practice. On the other side, three people were running through the lines. And, of course, there was the people just sitting there and staring off into space. Thankfully, two girls came out onto the stage. The first had shoulder-length reddish brown hair, green eyes, thick, black rimmed glasses, and was decked in a pair of jeans and black shirt that said 'You can't hide from me!'. The second girl had extremely short dark brown hair that was held back by clips, dark brown eyes, and was wearing a pair of slightly shiny greenish-beige pants, and a black shirt that had the fish from Cat in the Hat saying 'Don't Make Me Come Over There!' on it. The first girl stepped up to the mic and cleared her throat. Instantly, everyone sat down and shut up. The girl blinked, looked at her partner, and turned back to the audience.   
  
"Um, Konnichiwaa, everyone! We're glad that so many people have come to audition. My name is Jager, and this is my fellow director, Menchi. We are the directors for the production of Little Shop of Horrors."   
  
The second girl, Menchi grabbed the mic. "Obviously, you won't all make it into the musical itself. But rest assured, we'll need Set Designers, Costume Designers, and Lighting Crew. So may I introduce our current Managers of these Tech Crews." Three people stood up and headed to the apron. Jager stole the mic back from her counterpart. "This," she said, putting her arm around the shoulders of a raven-haired woman in an Egyptian style dress, "Is Isis Ishtar, head of Costume Design." Jager handed the mic to Isis. The woman looked around the auince before speaking.  
  
"I need a total of three more people. Any volunteers?" In the next row over from Hiei, a short boy with spiky blonde/maroon/black hair raised his hand. Isis grinned. "I should have known, Yugi. Come on up." As Yugi was making his way to the stage, two more people raised their hands. The first, a young woman with long jet black hair and brown eyes, was dressed in traditional priestess robes from the 17th century. The second was a man with sea-green hair light blue eyes with no pupils, and was wearing baggy white pants and a dark blue shirt. Isis motioned them both forward. After listening to their names, Isis turned back to the audience.   
  
"My assistants are Yugi Mouto, Kikyo Yu, and Touya Misato. Thank you." She handed the mic back to Menchi. Menchi looked surprised, then turned to Jager. "Your mother is a Chalupa fish." She informed the green-eyes girl seriously. The audience looked confused before Menchi announced the next crew, the Set Design, headed by Rishiid Ishtar. In the end, the crew turned out to be made up of Rishiid, Shippou Chibi, Jin Tsukai, and Hiroto Honda. Likewise, the next group was Lighting Crew, headed by Miroku Romanova, and was made up of Kazuma Kuwabara and Katsuya Jonouchi.   
  
Jager grinned. "And now, the best part. The auditions! Bum, bum, bum!" Menchi grabbed a sheet of flyers off of the floor and read the first name. "Will Shizuru Kuwabara please com up to the stage?" Everyone looked around at the tall brunette siting in the middle of the room. She sighed, stuffed her hand in her pockets, and made her way to the stage. Menchi handed her the mic and told her something the audience couldn't hear.   
  
"My name is Shizuru Kuwabara. I'm 19, a psychic, and will be singing 'Going Under' for your enjoyment."  
  
Shizuru a very good singer, and got a healthy dose of applause. The rest of the auditions went smoothly, even Hiei's, who had to be forcibly dragged onto the stage, and threatened to sing. Malik Ishtar and Yami Bakura had decided to sing the song 'I Am Cow', but tweaked the words so they went like this:  
  
'I am Pharaoh,  
  
Hear me moo.  
  
I weigh twice as much as you.  
  
And look good on Malik's barbeque.'  
  
Yami Mouto had turned beet red and slunk down in his seat as his friends laughed. Everyone else smiled awkwardly. Jager and Menchi were rolling on the floor laughing after that one. Pretty soon, everyone had gone, and were ready for the next part of the auditions, the dancing. They were split up into groups and taught a dance, which they then must perform in front of the rest of the crowd. Of course, Jager had seen to it that Malik and Bakura were in the same group, which resulted in hilarity and even more Yami embarassment. When that part was over, Menchi twirled the mic in her hand. "It is now my honor to introduce the choreogropher and music director of this production, Trini Garza!" A dark-haired man came out from stage left and snatched the mic from Menchi.   
  
"Hello. I will be your music director. Don't cross me, or I WILL throw a chair at your head. Is this clear?"  
  
Everyone stared at Trini with wide eyes before they nodded. Trini grinned cheerfully. "Then in that case, we are going to have a fun time!" He handed the mic back to Menchi, who was making a face like so: o.   
  
"Trini's so coooool! Anyhow, that will be all for today. Come back tomorrow for the cast list! See you then!"  
  
The Next Day  
  
Kurama and Hiei had headed off to the PAC at around 9. Surprisingly, Hiei was eager to see what role he made, and was dragging a half-asleep Kurama by his sleeve. The fox yawned widely.   
  
"Hiei, slow down. Who else will be there this early?"  
  
Famous last words. By the time the duo got to the PAC, there was a crowd around the doors. A piece of paper was visible just above the patron's heads. Hiei let go of Kurama's sleeve and made his way to the front. Peering upward, he read the list.  
  
Seymour Krellborne - Shuichi Minamino  
  
Audrey - Mai Kujaku  
  
Audrey II - Hiei Jaganshi  
  
Mr. Mushnik - Sesshomaru Youkai  
  
Mrs. Mushnik - Shizuru Kuwabara  
  
Orin Skavello - Marik Ishtar  
  
Crystal - Higurashi Kagome   
  
Ronette - Botan Aoi  
  
Chiffon - Anzu Mazaki  
  
Martin/DJ - Seto Kaiba  
  
Customer - InuYasha Hanyou  
  
ENSEMBLE  
  
Katsuya Shizuka  
  
Yukina Jaganshi  
  
Yusuke Urameshi  
  
Ryou Bakura  
  
Yami Bakura  
  
Malik Ishtar  
  
Keiko Yukimura  
  
Sango Takahashi  
  
Yami Mouto  
  
Hiei blinked. 'Audrey II?' he thought as he made his way back to Kurama. 'I'm playing a girl?' Kurama was sitting on one of the benches by the plants, wondering why everyone kept looking at him. Hiei approached the fox and said, "I'm playing Audrey II. Who's that?" Kurama's eyes widened. "Wow. You're the man-eating plant. Impressive." Hiei looked horrified. "I'm a p-plant?" he stuttered, looking rather angry. Kurama held up a hand. "Hiei, Audrey II is the best character for you to have. It's only a voice, so you're never onstage. All you do is talk and sing." Hiei thought about this and nodded. "Okay. Whatever. Oh yeah, you got cast as, oh who was it, Seymour Krellborne?" Kurama's jaw dropped.   
  
"Are you serious, Hiei? I'm Seymour?"   
  
Hiei nodded slowly. "Why?"  
  
Kurama looked stupified. "He's the main character. It's because of Seymour that you exist."  
  
Hiei shook his head. "Nu-uh. It's because of Ruri that I exist."  
  
"No, I mean Audrey II."  
  
"Oh."  
  
Kurama leaned back again. "When do we come back for our scripts?"   
  
"At 4."  
  
Jager: Hn. Better than I thought it would turn out.  
  
YamiRiku: Feeling better?  
  
Jager: I was till you showed up.   
  
YamiRiku: -.-  
  
Jager: Anyhoo, I need to watch Little Shop again. (plugs in DVD)  
  
YamiRiku: -.- Freeek.  
  
NEXT TIME  
  
- First Rehearsal. Always Scary.  
  
- The cast meets for the first time, and Yami tries to get even with Malik and Bakura.  
  
- Trini throws the chair. o.o Be very afraid...  
  
Jager: RR, por favor! 


	2. One Month In and Adventures With Coffee

Little Shop of Horrors!  
  
Chapter 2: The First Rehearsal  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own LSOH or any of the anime involved.  
  
Jager: o.o I... got reviews.  
  
YamiRiku: Isn't that what you wanted?  
  
Jager: Yes, but... I got reviews!  
  
YamiRiku: (sighs) On behalf of Jager and I, thank you to all reviewers! (hands out cookies)  
  
Jager: Next chapters' reviewers get a plushie of their favorite member of the cast!  
  
-:-:-:-  
  
After the dissapointed crowd of those who had been rejected had dissapeared, Hiei went and looked at the cast list again.  
  
Seymour Krellborne - Shuichi Minamino  
  
Audrey - Mai Kujaku  
  
Audrey II - Hiei Jaganshi  
  
Mr. Mushnik - Sesshomaru Youkai  
  
Mrs. Mushnik - Shizuru Kuwabara  
  
Orin Skavello - Marik Ishtar  
  
Crystal - Higurashi Kagome   
  
Ronette - Botan Aoi  
  
Chiffon - Anzu Mazaki  
  
Martin/DJ - Seto Kaiba  
  
Customer - InuYasha Hanyou  
  
ENSEMBLE  
  
Katsuya Shizuka  
  
Yukina Jaganshi  
  
Yusuke Urameshi  
  
Ryou Bakura  
  
Yami Bakura  
  
Malik Ishtar  
  
Keiko Yukimura  
  
Sango Takahashi  
  
Yami Mouto  
  
Hiei wandered back to Kurama and plopped down next to him. "Those insane guys from yesterday made it." he stated vaguly. Kurama gave him a strange look. "Who?" Hiei blinked. "I didn't tell you?" So Hiei recounted the events of Malik and the Great Big Bear Hug, which made Kurama laugh. With a smile, the kitsune stood and put his hands in his pockets.   
  
"Well, Hiei, since we're already up and about, and it's only 9:45, what do you say we head to the mall?"  
  
Hiei bristled slightly. "No. The mall is the symbol of all evil in the worlds.".  
  
Kurama chuckled. "I thought that was Richard Simmons."  
  
Hiei made a face. "He is too. He is WAY too happy. But the mall is up there."  
  
Kurama rolled his eyes. "Hiei, I need to go to the mall. If you wish to accompany me, we can pick up some ice cream before we come back."   
  
Hiei perked up. "Sweet snow?"  
  
"But only if you come."  
  
Hiei pouted. "Fine. Only if it's Rocky Road."  
  
"Deal."  
  
The pair was about to head off when a voice came from behind them. "Excuse me, are you two in Little Shop?"  
  
Kurama and Hiei turned to see a girl standing there. She had blackish-blue hair that went to her shoulder-blades, big brown eyes, and was wearing a green skirt with a white button-up blouse. Kurama smiled politely. "Yes, we are. May I ask your name?"   
  
The girl gave a small grin. "I'm Higurashi Kagome. I'm playing Crystal. Who are you?"  
  
Kurama bowed. "Shuichi Minamino, but please call me Kurama. This is my friend, Hiei."  
  
Kagome's eyes widened. "Really? Aren't you two playing Seymour and Twoie?"  
  
"Yes. Now what do you want?" Hiei interjected darkly. This girl was delaying his sweet snow!   
  
Kagome looked slightly hurt. "Um, I wondered if maybe I could hang out with you two until call time."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Well, my best friend Sango is on a date, InuYasha is God-knows-where, Miroku is with Sango, and Sesshomaru is with me. He sent me over here." Kagome looked behind her at the golden-eyed white-haired demon watching them. "He's a bit shy. So can we?"  
  
Kurama nodded. "Certainly. It would be nice to get to know some of the cast better." Kagome called Sesshomaru over, and the demon joined the trio.  
  
"Good morning. I'm Sesshomaru."  
  
Greetings were made, and the group proceeded to the mall, with Hiei in tow.  
  
:  
  
After a few hours of wandering aimlessly around the mall, Hiei had insisted on heading to the Food Court, where his precious sweet snow was being held. Kurama had agreed, and soon the group was digging into a 30-scoop competition, in which if they could eat the whole thing, they would get it for free. Kagome was the first to stop, after eating about 3-scoops. Kurama was next, at 8. Finally, it was Sesshomaru vs. Hiei in an ice cream eating war to the finish. It turned out that Sesshomaru loved ice cream as much as Hiei, and beat the Jaganshi by half-a-scoop. Hiei pouted all the way back to the Performing Arts Center, since it was 3:30, and the Call Time was 4. Thankfully, the doors were open, and the group headed on in. They weren't the first ones there; the white-haired honyou Kurama was talking to yesterday, InuYasha, was sitting in the back, staring at the ceiling, and a red-haired girl and a blonde boy were in the front, talking quietly.   
  
"InuYasha!" Kagome yelled and stalked over to the hanyou. Sesshomaru followed, looking mildly interested, and Kurama and Hiei watched from were they were. InuYasha gave Kagome one of those looks.   
  
"What?  
  
"InuYasha, where were you?! You said you'd meet me out there right at 9! No, I was waiting for half-an-hour!"  
  
InuYasha rolled his eyes. "Calm down, Kagome. I was... occupied."  
  
The yelling continued, and Hiei was getting more and more interested with each word. "Lovers tiff."  
  
Kurama and Hiei turned in surprise to see Sesshomaru behind them Hiei looked very surprised. "How'd you..."  
  
Sesshomaru held up a hand. "No. Those two have fallen so hard for each other that they don't even realize it."  
  
Kurama grinned, and Hiei just stared at the demon. The rest of the cast showed up in the next 30 minutes, and right 4:00pm, they heard the doors in the foyer slam shut, and Menchi and Jager came out onto the open stage, carrying a clipboard each. Instantly, a quiet descended on the room, and Jager looked surprised.   
  
"What? That was weird. Anyway, is everyone here? Let's see, Botan Aoi?"  
  
"Present!" A blue-haired girl in the middle row raised her hand.   
  
"Ryou and Yami Bakura?"  
  
Both white-haired boys raised their hands. This went on until Keiko Yukimura, Yusuke's girlfriend. Menchi sat down on the stage and flipped through her production notes. "Okay. By role, come up and get your script. Kurama, Mai, Hiei, you first."   
  
Kurama and Hiei stood, as did a woman with very long curly blone hair, and headed to the stage. Jager handed them their scripts and said, "Your roles are already highlighted. Read through them while the rest of the cast gets theirs. Okay, Sesshomaru, Shizuru, Marik, come up here!" Soon, everyone had their scripts, and were reading intently through their parts. Some of the ensemble were singing softly under their breath to get used to it. Even Menchi and Jager were flipping though their scripts. For the most part, it was quiet.   
  
Until Trini came in.   
  
The dark-haired man looked around the auditorium. No one aknowledged his presence, which irked him.   
  
"Ahem."  
  
Only those close to the choreogropher, which was Yukina Jaganshi and Shizuka Katsuya, looked up. Trini didn't like that very much.  
  
"HEY!!!"  
  
Everyone jumped in their seats and various positions on the floor and looked at him with wide eyes. Trini smiled happily. "Hello." Everyone sort of just stared at him, and a select few, meaning Malik, Marik, and Bakura, waved cheerfully back. Trini gave a grin and pranced up to the stage. Most everyone gave him a strange look before returning to their scripts. Jager and Menchi looked up at him from their spots on the stage and said in unison, "Konnichiwaa, Trini-sama!" Trini kicked them softly in the heads and continued to a little room just on the other side of the PAC.   
  
After everyone had finished reading their scripts, they started to leave for home, but not before Jager yelled that rehearsal was tomorrow at 12pm. For the most part, no one aknowledged her, but stowed the information in the backs of their minds.  
  
:  
  
The night passed quickly, and before anyone knew it, they were all back at the PAC in the same spots as yesterday. Hiei had arrived with Yukina instead, having stayed at Genkai's temple the previous night. Jager was lounging around on the stage with the Costume Crew, Light Crew, and Set Crew, who had arrived an hour earlier. Jager sat up and glanced around the room.   
  
"Is everyone here?" After a chorus of yes', the brown-haired girl stood up and snatched her clipboard from Miroku, who was ogling at something in the back. After smacking him upside the head, she jumped off the stage and said, "Everyone move up to the front row. We'll be covering doing a Cold Read and a basis of the dance steps today." Everyone moved, some by force, to the front of the room. Jager clapped her hands twice and looked around.   
  
"Where's Menchi? Oh well. Okay, everyone who was cast in the ensemble, move to the second row, if you wouldn't mind. Thank you. Now, the ensemble are going to be bums lounging around out here," she indicated the area below the stage, "And won't have any lines, except for Malik and Yusuke." The two named looked exceedingly pleased, but Jager ignored them and said, "Everyone get your scripts." Everyone pulled out their scripts and were right about to start when the doors in the foyer slammed open, and an agrivated-looking Menchi came running in. But it wasn't the fact that she was late that everyone was staring at her.  
  
She was wearing only a skimpy red bathing suit with a fluffy blue towel wrapped abound her waist. All the guys stared at her with wide eyes, while the girls just smiled and waved hello. "Sorry I'm late. Swim practice ran overtime." Menchi explained, shifting her gym bag from one shoulder to the other. "And if you don't mind, I'm going to go change." Jager nodded in agreement and said, "Hurry!" Marik looked around and stood up, trying very hard to be inconspicuous. He failed miserably, since he was in the front row, and was in front of four girls. Keiko and Sango grabbed his shoulders and pushed him back down into the seat, while Yukina and Shizuka gave him dissaproving looks.   
  
About five minutes and one song of scene one later, Menchi came strolling back into the auditorium and took her seat upon the stage. And, as pervy men are, Miroku leaned over and whispered something, presumably pervy, into her ear. Anzu was halfway through her line when a shriek of outrage echoed through the room, followed by a loud slap. Everyone looked up with wide eyes. Miroku was laying on the stage, most likely unconcious, a giant red handprint visible on his face.   
  
And that was the excitment of Rehearsal Number One.  
  
:  
  
A Month Later  
  
The musical was coming along very well. Trini had everyone working like dogs to learn the dances, vocals, and projection, while Jager and Menchi were working them on their lines. The bums were lucky, because they got to sit out in the audience when they weren't dancing and singing, and yell at the people onstage that they weren't being loud enough. Hiei was darkly irritated at the fact that he was being forced to play as a bum until after the second song. Jager had told him that he would be sitting backstage with the pupeteers if he didn't act like a bum. Hiei told her that this was fine. Jager told him that was too bad for him, and walked away. Hiei was also irritated at Kurama, since the fox had told him he wouldn't have to do anything. But Kurama was too busy to really care. He was being drilled harder than anyone, with the possible exception of Mai, who had to adopt a ditzy blonde accent in order to play Audrey. The Mushnik's, Shizuru and Sesshomaru, had it possibly easier than anyone else. Neither had to have an accent, although Sesshomaru had to go through the indignity of having a fake moustache.   
  
And now, to one of Trini's grueling Vocal Lessons...  
  
"WHERE'S MY COFFEE?!"  
  
No one flinched as the vocal director began ranting for the millonth time that day. Yukina gave a concerned look and made to stand up, but was stopped by Bakura. "Don't bother." The white-haired spirit said calmly. Just then, Menchi and Jager strolled in, carrying several cups of Starbucks. Everyone who had ordered the coffee jumped up, and made for the duo, but were beaten out by Trini.  
  
"Where's my coffee!?" he asked urgently, grabbing their shoulders. Menchi made a face and handed Trini the largest cup.   
  
"There's your coffee. Happy?" She said sarcastically.  
  
"Whoot! Coffee! Everyone, on the risers NOW! Your coffee is being held hostage!" Trini yelled.  
  
Protests rose up from the agitated cast. Even the two calmst emebers of the group, Ryou Bakura and Yukina, were getting irritated. Trini pushed InuYasha and Seto Kaiba towards the risers. "NOW!"   
  
Everything went silent as a chair clattered on the other side of the room. Trini's eyes were narrow, and his hands were clenched at his side. Silently, everyone moved oever to the risers, and Trini sat down at the piano.  
  
And that was Vocals one month in.  
  
::  
  
Jager: Yay! Chapter 2 is done!  
  
Menchi: Whoot!  
  
Jager: Must thank Menchi-chan, since she was actually in LSOH and I wasn't. Trini really threatened to throw chair at them, but never did. Thankfully.  
  
Menchi: Very much so. But we'll be dealing with him anyway in show choir.  
  
Jager: . Yup...  
  
Next Chapter  
  
Meet the band! There are some very familiar faces in there...  
  
Trini brings licorice to rehearsal.   
  
And... THE FINAL REHEARSAL! BUM BUM BUM!  
  
Jager and Menchi: RR!!! 


	3. The Day Before Opening Night and Licoric...

Little Shop of Horrors!  
  
Ch. 3: The Final Rehearsal  
  
I do not own LSOH or YGO. Menchi is Menchi's, and Jager is mine.  
  
Jager: It makes me sad...  
  
YamiRiku: What?  
  
Jager: I only got two reviews for the last chapter. (sniffsniff)  
  
YamiRiku: (shrugs) Oh well. Enjoy Chapter 4 of Little Shop of Horrors!  
  
---  
  
-Four Months In-  
  
The cast of Little Shop had been diligently rehearsing for four months. This meant dealing with the directors' mood swings, Trini's violent outbursts, and little sleep. Some of the cast had acutally resorted to staying the night some days, just so they didn't have to wake up so early. Anyhow...  
  
"Hey, guys!"  
  
Everyone looked up from their break to see a grinning Menchi and Jager. The costume crew was behind them, dancing with each other. "What?" Seto asked, sipping his mocha frappachino. "We've got costumes!" There was silence, then a mad rush to the foyer, where five carts of clothes lay waiting to be moved. Everyone made a dash to look, but were stopped by Trini.   
  
"Seto, InuYasha, Yusuke, Malik, Ryou, move these to the front of auditorium. We'll distribute them there." The said five moved the carts, and everyone sat down eagerly. Jager picked up the first outfit, and said, "We'll give the bums their costumes first. Yukina, come here please." The blue-haired Koorime stood and made her way to the two directors. She thanked them politely, and sat back down with her costume. Soon, all the bums had their outfits, and were lookin at them eagerly. Menchi dug through the remaining costumes and motioned the Urchins, being Botan, Kagome, and Aznu, and handed them each three different outfits. Marik was next, and recieved a black leather jacket, black jeans, and a dentist uniform. Seto's costume was the most amusing; he was given a yellow tweed suit and a red tie. After everyone got over laughing at the hanyou, Jager gave Kurama his outfit and said, "Okay! Everyone go try them on!"   
  
With The Girls  
  
Keiko blushed as she looked at herself in the mirror. Jager and Menchi had decided that she and Sango would be Skid Row hookers. Keiko was stuck in a blue-and-white striped minidress that went down to her waist on the back, a red bra, a red boa, and high-heeled black sandals. Beside her, Sango gave a sluttly pose and blew a kiss to her reflection. The demon slayer had the better outfit by far, and was wearing a white wife-beater, a short black skirt, elbow-length black gloves, black fishnet tights, and hooker-boots. The two giggled, and turned to see Shizuka standing behind them. The redhead looked very cute in her costume of a slightly tattered floral print dress with a purple vest, red and white socks, mismatched slippers, and a floppy straw hat. She blushed slightly and said, "How do I look?" Sango gave the shorter girl a hug and said, "Very cute, Shizzy-chan." Mai's voice drifted out of one of the stalls.  
  
"This dress is NOT my color!"  
  
The blonde emerged from her stall, decked in a pink dress with small black polka-dots. Two-inch high black heels were dangling from her finger, and she looked very unhappy. Keiko looked confused. "It looks good, Mai. Is that all you have?" Mai shook her head. "Nope. I have like three others." She grimaced and dissapeared back into the stall. Yukina came out of her stall, looking pleased with her outfit. It was made up of tattered black pants, a purple shirt with a few makeshift stains, a black thigh-length trechcoat, and mismatched Dickies. She beamed happily at Sango, who said she was lucky to not be a hooker, and sat on the countertop. Shizuru walked by looking exceptionally displeased. It was obvious why; the strict pants-only girl was wearing a green dress with yellow dots, and a white apron. Everyone stifled giggles, and blinked as the Urchins sashayed towards them. Anzu was wearing a red pleated skirt and red plaid socks, Botan in blue, and Kagome in green. All three were in white collared shirts with their chosen colored shirt under. Botana had her hair in a high ponytail, while Kagome and Anzu's hair was down. They all struck a pose and grinned cheerfully.   
  
With The Guys  
  
Sesshomaru leaned against the mirror with disdainful grin. He had been stuck with khaki pants, a white collared shirt with a dark blue vest, and a red tie, not to mention the fake moustache sitting on his lap. Beside him, Marik was striking cocky poses in his leather jacket. The yami gave the youkai a stoned look, then a hyper switch, then an insane grin. Sesshomaru gave him a strange look and turned to look at Ryou. The white-haired boy was wearing tweed black pants, which were slightly shredded, a baggy green shirt with a ripped sleeve, a black vest, and mismatched shoes. Sesshomaru raised a brow. "That doesn't look very bum-like to me." Ryou shrugged, and joined the demon on the counter. Yusuke came out next, closley followed by Seto and Yami. Yusuke gave his reflection a look, and started laughing. The tantei was wearing a sort-of suit-like khaki garment, with a white collared shirt under it. There were loud stains on it, and since Yuske was playing a drunk, this was perfectly understandable. Yami, however, looked very aggravated. As a former pharaoh, he found his outfit of shredded jeans, a red shirt, a yellow baseball-cap, and a ripped brown vest very offensive.   
  
"If I were still Pharaoh..."  
  
"Yeah, well, you aren't. Shut up."  
  
Bakura had just emerged from his stall, and gave Yami a glare. The white-haired spirit was in gi-like white pants, a light-blue tank-top, and a long black trench-coat. "Well, at least yours looks better than mine." Yami huffed. Sesshomaru raised his brow and shook his head as Malik and Kurama came out. Kurama didn't look that bad in his costume of khaki pants, white collared shirt, a green vest, and a red bow-tie with thick rimmed glasses.He peered at them, and sighed. "I can't see a thing." he announced, pulling the glasses of and putting them in his pocket. Malik gave a loud cough and looked surprised when everyone looked at him. InuYasha opened his door, looked at everyone, and said that his outfit looked normal. He was in a black suit with a white collared shirt under a black jacket, and a black bowler hat. Hiei yelled from out of his stall, "I'm not coming out!" Kurama rolled his eyes.   
  
"Hiei, it can't be that bad. Don't make me come in there." "I'm not showing my outfit till you come out!" Malik yelled. Eveyone gave him a strange look, sine they could all see his costume anyhow. He was wearing a black sweater trenchcoat that went down to his ankles, and a light blue shirt. They couldn't see his pants, since Malik kept his trenchcoat firm around him. Anyhow, Hiei remained firmly in his stall. Kurama sighed and motoined Yusuke over. Together, they kicked the door open and dregged a protesting Hiei out by the arms. The half-Koorime was wearing tattered grey pants, a purple tank-top, and a light-blue jacket. Luckily, right at that moment, Malik decided to do something drastic.  
  
He whipped open his trenchcoat to reveal no pants, but only SpongeBob boxers.   
  
Everyone stared at him silently. Then Yusuke snickered, and pretty soon, everyone but Marik and Hiei were rolling on the floor laughing. Marik merely grinned and patted his lights head. Hiei just stared at Malik in disbelief.  
  
And that was the Costume Distribution.  
  
The cast made their way out of the changing rooms, laughing at each others costumes and mocking one another. The costume crew looked pleased that they had done a good job. Menchi looked them over and clapped her hands.  
  
"Okay everyone! The costumes are great! Now, I'd like you to meet the band that will be playing for us!" She gestured to the group of people sitting below stage right. There were some surprisingly familiar faces in there for everyone. Yusuke looked shocked at Shishiwakamaru Midori waved cheerfully as he clutched his violen. Yami was staring at Otogi Ryuji as the dice-master twirled his trumpet, and InuYasha gaped at Koga Wolf, who grinned wryly at him from his guitar. Menchi opened her mouth again and said, "They are being directed by Mr. Sam Gipson! Let's give 'em a hand!"   
  
--  
  
One Week Later  
  
When Ryou and Bakura walked into the auditorium, they were greeted with a new sight. The stage had been set, it seems, over the last night. Both of the white-haired boys eyes widened, and they made their way to the stage. The set looked awesome. The apron had a stand that read 'NEWSPAPER' in painted letters on stage right, and stage left had a door which read 1313 on it, and a stoop in front of the door. The area in front of the stage looked amazing, and was decorated in trashcans (one of the three had a fake fire burning in it), newspapers, plants, a cart filled with junk, and trash. A set of black stairs led up onto the apron from the front of the stage.   
  
But it was the stage itself that looked the best. It was decorated to be Mushnik's Skid Row Florist, and looked like a single roomed store, except for the small black curtain on the back wall. A desk with a cash register sat on stage left, and a table with flowers and other plants was on stage right.   
  
Jager was sitting in a dentists chair offstage, looking pleased. "What do you think?" She asked, motioning the set crew over to hear the report. The Bakura's looked at each other before looking back at the director.   
  
"It looks awesome!"  
  
--  
  
One Month Until Show Time!  
  
The cast, crew, and band were lounging around the stage, bored out of their skulls. Trini had yet to show up, which was unusual for the gay coreographer(sp?). He was always there on time, and had never once been late. Jager was about to call places when Trini rushed in, a white bag swinging in his hand.   
  
"Sorry! I thought you guys deserved something for your hard work, so here!"  
  
Trini produced a giant container of licorice from the bag, and was almost immediatly swamped by sugar-deprived actors. He held it above his head and shook his finger. "Ah ah ah! Band gets first dibs!" The band stood up, but promptly sat when Mr. Gipson said that they would have to eat it after, since the licorice would affect the playing of the instruments. Trini shrugged and popped the lid off.   
  
-3 Hours Later...-  
  
Mr. Gipson wiped the sweat off his brow and said, "Okay! Go ahead and get your licorice!" The band rushed to the container, only to find to their dismay that it was empty. Otogi turned, and saw Malik stuff the last piece in his mouth. The whole band fell over face-faulted and trudged back to their seats. Malik looked confused as everyone around him laughed.  
  
"What?"  
  
--  
  
The Day Before Opening Night!  
  
Everyone was nervous, whether they admited it or not. Yukina kept getting nervous jitters, and had to be calmed down by her brother. Ryou forgot the words in one part of a song, and broke down. He had to be taken out to the foyer and reassured by Jager, Bakura, and Malik. Even the strong-hearted, like Hiei and Sesshomaru, were breathing deeper than usual. The lighting crew was having truble with the spotlight, which was a bad thing. Pre-night jitters had settled in, and everyone knew it.  
  
After rehearsal had ended, and everyone was sitting out in the audience, Jager, Menchi, and Trini sat on the apron and looked out at the cast and crew. Jager gave them all a nervous grin.  
  
"Well, here we are. It's been 5 months since we started, and now its the day before opening night."  
  
Menchi stopped her co-director and said, "We just want to thank you all from the bottom of our hearts You guys are truly the best of the best."  
  
Trini stood up and cleared his throat. "You guys have worked so hard. I know you can do this. This is what you were born to do. All of you."  
  
"We lurve you guys! Now break a leg tomorrow!" Jager yelled happily. Everyone clapped, and paused just long enough for Menchi to tell them to be there 3 hours before showtime. Then everyone headed on home, running lines and songs through their heads feverently.  
  
--  
  
Genkai's Temple  
  
1:36AM  
  
Hiei was staring at the ceiling, running his lines in his head. He had known there was going to be no way he would sleep that night. The moon was directly outside his window, illuminating the room in a dull light. The fire demon's ears perked up when he heard soft footfalls outside his door. A soft knock echoed through the room. "It's Yukina.", came his little sister's voice from behind the door.   
  
"Come in."  
  
The door slid open, and Yukina shuffled in, her blue hair in dissaray and her crimson eyes visibly nervous. Hiei gave her a rare smile and slid up on his bed so she could sit next to him. The Koorime did so, and gave her twin a sad smile.   
  
"What's wrong, Yukina?" Hiei asked.  
  
The blue-haired girl was silent for a few seconds, before hestantly opening her mouth. "I'm nervous, Hiei-chan. I don't knwo if I can go through with it." The black-haired demon shook his head softly. "Yukina, you can do this. I've watched you every day, and you get better and better each time. If anyone can do it, it's you." Yukina still had her head bowed, and Hiei could see the tear-gems pooling up on the blanket. Her reached out and gave her a tight hug. "Don't worry, Yukina-chan." Hiei whispered in her ear, "You'll do fine."  
  
And that was how Genkai found them the next morning. Hiei was leaning up against the wall, his arms tight around his sister. Both were dead asleep. Genkai allowed herself a grin and shut the door softly.  
  
---  
  
Jager: Kawaii!!!  
  
YamiRiku: Yeah, I guess.  
  
Jager: (smiles) Anyhow, I must hand out plushies! (Gives out a Ryou plushie and a Kurama plushie) Ther we go!  
  
NEXT CHAPTER  
  
-In the three hours before the show, what could possibly go wrong but everything?  
  
-Yusuke, InuYasha, and Bakura get an unpleasent surprise in the audience.  
  
-The Show Begins!  
  
YamiRiku: Review!   
  
Jager: Yes, please! I want at least 20 revvies by the end of the story!  
  
NEXT CHAPTER: Of Critics and Act I! 


End file.
